Chapter 21: A Challenge for the School Beauty

While some rejoiced, others despaired, for the charm of Starlight Academy’s foremost School Beauty was truly unparalleled.

Su Liyue’s admirers lined the corridors from the first-year classrooms all the way to the graduating class, and love letters showered upon her ceaselessly, like falling snowflakes.

Consequently, her campus life became a constant cycle of rejecting confessions or being on the verge of receiving them.

Among them, Xiao Qicai, a fourth-year student, stood out as Su Liyue’s most persistent suitor, having pursued her relentlessly for two entire years.

Hailing from a ducal family, he boasted not only an illustrious background but also exceptional talent as a fire magic prodigy.

He had initially believed that with such formidable credentials, winning Su Liyue’s heart would be an absolute certainty.

Yet, Su Liyue appeared utterly uninterested, rejecting his advances with a cold, unwavering resolve.

As the acknowledged ducal scion of Starlight Academy, he was not one to yield so easily; he even once convinced himself that Su Liyue’s rejections stemmed from a perceived lack of sincerity on his part.

Over the past two years, he had exhausted every conceivable method to convey his affections:

He had presented her with a staff inlaid with moonstones.

He had penned love letters, delicately perfumed.

He had even convinced his family to designate an entire commercial district as a future engagement gift.

Nevertheless, Su Liyue’s response remained consistently frigid: “There’s no need.”

He had initially attributed her aloofness to the inherent reserve of a ‘high-mountain flower’ (TL Note: A common Chinese idiom referring to someone unattainable or out of one’s league, like a rare, beautiful flower on a high peak).

After all, Su Liyue had mercilessly rejected every other suitor besides him, offering a sliver of solace to his wounded pride.

Perhaps she felt she was still too young, or perhaps his extravagant gestures simply hadn’t been lavish enough.

Yet, bolstered by his family’s formidable influence, he remained confident that with enough time, and by demonstrating his true capabilities, he would eventually pluck this elusive ‘high-mountain flower.’

The protracted process of slowly winning her over, he mused, would only amplify his sense of accomplishment.

This conviction held until Xiao Qicai heard the news of Su Liyue having a boyfriend.

Initially, he dismissed it as utterly impossible.

He hadn’t witnessed it firsthand, and the familiar summoning ritual was a compulsory course only for students below third year; as a fourth-year, the academy no longer required them to observe such foundational lessons.

Afterward, he had even gone out of his way to investigate the boy’s background.

‘Could he be a prince from some kingdom?’ he pondered.

‘After all, Su Liyue is renowned as an unattainable ‘high-mountain flower’; how could any ordinary person possibly catch her eye? If he truly were a prince of the Aetheria Empire, I would concede defeat without complaint.’

Yet, after thorough investigation, the identity of this person shocked him to his core: it was none other than Ye Xingchen, the notorious alchemy fanatic, academic underachiever, and repeat failure!

“What kind of joke is this?!” he seethed, instantly feeling a furious urge to strike someone.

‘How could Su Liyue, with her moon-like aloofness, possibly be attracted to such a good-for-nothing? This must be a mere smokescreen!’

It was only at this very moment that his delusions shattered completely.

The sight unfolding in the corridor utterly demolished his fantasies.

Ye Xingchen, the much-maligned academic underachiever rumored to be her boyfriend, was brazenly embracing Su Liyue in public!

What was even more astonishing was that Su School Beauty not only refrained from slapping him, but the tips of her ears were even tinged with a tell-tale blush!

The jeering whispers from the surrounding students pierced his ears like daggers.

At this point, Xiao Qicai could endure no longer!

With a swift Wind-element Quick Step, he appeared directly before Ye Xingchen.

“Junior student,” Xiao Qicai began, his voice laced with menace, “is your hand perhaps misplaced?”

As he spoke, he clamped a hand onto Ye Xingchen’s shoulder.

The scene instantly fell silent, and a subtle tension permeated the air.

The girls giggled and egged them on, while the boys muttered amongst themselves with a distinctly sour undertone.

Everyone understood that with the Duke’s son, Xiao Qicai, making an appearance, the real drama was about to unfold.

As Su Liyue’s most ardent admirer, how could this noble young master possibly tolerate his beloved being snatched away by another?

Yet, no one had anticipated that the first to challenge would be Young Master Xiao, a man renowned for his impeccable demeanor.

It appeared that this time, he truly could not restrain himself.

Ye Xingchen had just steadied Su Liyue in his arms and was still contemplating how to defuse the awkward situation when a sudden weight pressed down on his shoulder.

Having been raised and guided by Madam Su since childhood, he harbored an instinctive aversion to male touch.

Were it not for his concern for Su Liyue’s safety and his reluctance to stir up unnecessary trouble, given his formidable temper as a Saint, his assailant would have already been reduced to ashes.

Xiao Qicai’s pupils abruptly constricted.

He had secretly exerted his full strength, yet the other remained utterly unmoving, while his own finger bones throbbed with pain from the impact.

‘What kind of academic underachiever is this?’ he thought, utterly bewildered.

‘He’s like an immovable, towering mountain!’

“One second,” Ye Xingchen stated, his voice suddenly turning frigid.

“Remove your hand.”

Feeling the weight of all eyes upon him, Xiao Qicai, unwilling to lose face, defiantly increased his grip and retorted:

“Or else what?”

How could the dignity of a Saint be challenged by a mere ant?

Ye Xingchen’s gaze abruptly transformed—a regal pressure, transcending all mortal beings, emanated from him.

With just that single glance, Xiao Qicai stumbled backward as if struck by lightning, feeling as though he were confronting an entity far more terrifying than an imperial monarch.

“You’ve got guts, kid!”

Xiao Qicai forced himself to stand firm on his trembling legs, his voice still defiant.

“If I hadn’t merely slipped, young master, you’d be in the infirmary right now!”

Ye Xingchen couldn’t be bothered to entertain such clumsy bluster, for the man was, true to his character, petty, a weakling, and utterly hypocritical!

With a swift movement, he swept Su Liyue into a princess carry.

To everyone’s astonishment, the usually aloof Su School Beauty obediently wrapped her arms around his neck, their synchronized movements suggesting a rapport honed over a thousand rehearsals.

In reality, this seamless coordination was merely Ye Xingchen’s subconscious instinct, born of his reluctance to exert conscious control over two distinct bodies.

This intimate gesture utterly ignited Xiao Qicai’s fury.

“Blaze of Fury!”

The tip of his magic staff erupted with a blinding crimson light, and a fireball, half a meter in diameter, whistled forth, its searing heat forcing the surrounding students to recoil.

“Be careful!” Mu Wanqing gasped, her voice filled with alarm.

Yet, the ensuing sight left everyone utterly dumbfounded—Ye Xingchen continued his unhurried advance, while the ferocious fireball, just two meters from him, inexplicably vanished, leaving not even a wisp of smoke behind.

Only Mu Wanqing, pressed close beside him, heard Su Liyue lightly part her crimson lips:

“Void Magic.”

Imperceptible ripples of energy emanated from the young woman’s slender fingertips.

The entire corridor plunged into a stunned silence.

Mu Wanqing’s eyes widened in disbelief.

‘Casting without a staff?’ she thought, utterly bewildered.

‘This defies all known magical principles! And what about that unheard-of Void Magic?!’

The expressions of the onlookers ranged from confusion to awe.

‘Was it Senior Xiao’s magic failing?’ they whispered, ‘Or was it…?’

Xiao Qicai’s hand, gripping his magic staff, trembled almost imperceptibly.

He knew, with chilling certainty, that this fireball, amplified by his full magical might, possessed enough power to shatter granite!

Yet, it had been erased as if by some higher-order law.

Ye Xingchen’s steps remained unbroken, as he offered a dismissive remark:

“Academic credits have never been a true measure of strength.”

“Good! Very good!”

Xiao Qicai’s mask of elegance utterly shattered, his voice twisting with unrestrained fury.

“You’ve successfully enraged me, boy!”

‘Just another spoiled young noble, coddled by his family,’ Ye Xingchen mused.

In his previous life in the Spirit Realm, he had crushed countless so-called “geniuses” who relied solely on their backgrounds to throw their weight around.

A mere hint of pressure was often enough to expose their true, pathetic nature.

‘True noble grace?’ he scoffed internally.

‘If Xiao Qicai could maintain a dignified exit right now, I might even afford him a modicum of respect.’

Instead, he insisted on making a public spectacle out of jealousy, mistakenly believing he was displaying profound affection, when to any discerning eye, he was merely performing a ludicrous farce.

“No matter what trick you just employed…”

Xiao Qicai suddenly raised his voice, his magic staff pointing directly at Ye Xingchen.

“Do you dare face me in a true duel? Like a man!”